The Schenectady Foundation

New Foundation Grants

New Foundation Grants Invest in Basic Needs, Youth Achievement


The Schenectady Foundation recently made nine new grants -- totaling $367,500 – that invest in programs meeting basic needs such as food and housing, and in programs that strengthen the future of Schenectady's youth by providing mentoring, enrichment and college scholarships. "The grants reflect the Foundation's commitment to responding to both immediate and long-term needs in the community," said Foundation Administrator Robert Carreau.

The Foundation plans to make grants of about $890,000 in 2007. Since its inception The Schenectady Foundation has granted more than $10 million.

The new grants are listed below. Click on each grantee and learn how The Schenectady Foundation is strategically investing in organizations that make a significant impact on the community.

Community Health and Basic Needs

Youth Achievement

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND BASIC NEEDS

Food Pantry – Schenectady Inner City Mission
The Schenectady Inner City Mission (SICM) has been granted $100,000 to support this emergency food program's relocation and expansion initiative. SICM provides more than 25,000 adults and children with 230,000 meals each year. The new 8,000-square-foot facility, located at 839 Albany Street in Schenectady, will enable SICM to provide food to more people in less crowded conditions and, significantly, to stay open more hours, avoiding the need to turn people away. Also, the program will be able to restore services such as nutrition education, linking individuals to employment and training opportunities, a children's space, and access to Food Stamps. www.sicm.us

Affordable Housing Workshops -- Community Land Trust of Schenectady
A grant of $17,500 was awarded to the Community Land Trust of Schenectady, Inc. to assist in the construction of a classroom and workshop facility. The new facility -- in the back of the CLTS office building -- will be a multipurpose hands-on teaching area to help low- to moderate-income residents obtain and maintain safe, secure and affordable housing. Workshops offered will include: sheetrock and wall repair, insect and pest control, roofs and gutters, plumbing and weatherization and energy efficiency. Educational classes will address topics such as tenant rights and issues, financial planning and credit counseling, and first-time home buying. www.cltofschdy.org

Home Outreach to Elderly and Disabled – Umbrella
A grant of $30,000 was made to Umbrella of the Capital District to support its Independence Home Outreach Project in Schenectady County. Umbrella provides high quality, low-cost handyman and homemaker services to help elderly and disabled homeowners stay in their own homes and maintain their independence. This grant will help offset costs of service coordination and outreach, targeting low-income seniors and disabled individuals as well as subsidize membership services for low-income individuals. www.theumbrella.org

Restoration – Central Park Rose Garden
The Central Park Rose Garden Restoration Committee was awarded a grant of $25,000 toward Phase 2 of the garden restoration project: the construction of the Grand Staircase and the Gatehouse. The Grand Staircase will become a major focal point and provide walkable entry to the garden from Central Parkway. The Gatehouse will provide much-needed storage and a central location for utility controls. Each year, more than 20,000 people visit the garden, which features 4,000 rose bushes of 200 varieties of roses. The grant was made in memory of Charles W. Carl, Jr., a founder and leader of The Schenectady Foundation. www.schenectadyrose.com

YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT

Youth Mentoring – Big Brothers Big Sisters
Big Brothers Big Sisters will receive a grant of $25,000 to assist in increasing (from 150 to 250) the number of vulnerable children matched with a Big Brother or Big Sister in Schenectady County. Schenectady County has a high percentage of low-income children, many of whom live in single-parent families in neighborhoods with high rates of crime, drug-selling and poor housing – all factors that increase the odds that a child will become involved in delinquency and violent crime. A growing body of research shows that young people are more likely to become successful adults if they have caring, concerned adults as role models and mentors. www.bbbscr.org

Youth Mentoring – Friendship House
Friendship House was awarded a grant of $15,000 to enhance its after-school program, which was created in response to the large number of low-income students left unsupervised after 3:00 p.m. in Schenectady's Vale/Hamilton district. The Friendship House program offers tutoring, homework help and mentoring in a caring environment. Providing academic enrichment and mentoring has been shown to improve school success and reduce students' involvement in behaviors that jeopardize their health and well-being.

College Scholarships – Sponsor-A-Scholar
A grant of $75,000 was made to the Sponsor-A-Scholar (SAS) program to sponsor ten students from Schenectady High School's Class of 2011. SAS provides economically disadvantaged students with emotional and academic support and one-on-one mentoring. Students are selected for the program after completing ninth grade and guaranteed a $6,000 college scholarship if they fully participate in the program, graduate from high school and attend college. The Foundation has made two previous grants totaling $97,500 to the SAS program. www.crsas.org

Performance Opportunities – City Strings Training Program
The Empire State Youth Orchestra will receive a grant of $30,000 ($25,000 in matching funds) to support the City Strings Training and Recital Program in Schenectady County. The City Strings Training Program (CSTP), located in Oneida, Central Park and Mont Pleasant Middle Schools, offers instrumental music lessons to children whose families could not otherwise afford them. With this grant, the CSTP will increase performance opportunities for the students and provide enrichment to Schenectady County seniors by making nursing home recitals an integral part of the program. www.esyo.org

Classroom Expansion – Wildwood School
A $50,000 grant toward a classrooms and facilities expansion project will help Wildwood School meet the increasingly complex needs of the children in its care. The project will reconfigure existing classrooms; add three new class rooms, workspace for teachers and nurses, and a space for larger school and community educational events; and create dedicated spaces for physical, occupational, speech, music and art therapies. The project will allow Wildwood to provide the full range of educational and therapeutic services required by their students, as well to admit an additional 20 to 30 students. The school currently has a growing waiting list. www.wildwood.edu


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